“The Beast to Die” / 「野獣死すべし」, Original Japanese Movie Poster 1980, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) H289
Sale price$150.00
This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the first Japanese release of The Beast to Die / 「野獣死すべし」, Tōru Murakawa’s uncompromising 1980 psychological crime thriller starring Yūsaku Matsuda.
Released in Japan on 4 October 1980, the film was adapted from Haruhiko Ōyabu’s celebrated hard-boiled novel. It reunited Matsuda and Murakawa following their successful collaboration on The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf, producing one of the most intense and unsettling Japanese crime films of its period.
Film background
The film follows Kunihiko Date, a former press photographer who has returned to Tokyo after witnessing violence and human suffering in war zones including Angola, Lebanon, and Uganda.
Although Date outwardly leads a cultivated life as a translator and classical-music enthusiast, his experiences have left him profoundly alienated from ordinary society. Beneath his controlled exterior lies a cold, predatory intelligence and a growing compulsion towards violence.
After murdering a police officer and stealing his handgun, Date attacks an illegal gambling establishment and begins planning an audacious bank robbery. He eventually recruits the volatile young waiter Tetsuo Sanada, recognising in him a similar contempt for the conventional world.
Their increasingly brutal activities draw the attention of detective Kashiwagi, who becomes convinced that Date is responsible for the crimes and begins pursuing him through Tokyo. What develops is not simply a police thriller, but a bleak examination of trauma, nihilism, criminal obsession, and the disintegration of moral identity.
Matsuda’s performance became particularly noted for the extremity of his physical transformation. He reportedly lost more than ten kilograms and had four molars removed to give Date’s face its hollow, deathlike appearance. His restrained voice, gaunt features, and unpredictable eruptions of violence create one of the most disturbing antiheroes in Japanese cinema.
The film was directed by Tōru Murakawa, from a screenplay by Shōichi Maruyama, with cinematography by Seizō Sengen and music by Akihiko Takashima.
The principal cast includes Yūsaku Matsuda, Takeshi Kaga, Hideo Murota, Asami Kobayashi, Kie Negishi, Morio Kazama, Kōichi Iwaki, Rei Okamoto, and Kei Satō.
Poster design
This exceptional Japanese design uses a stark combination of grainy photographic imagery, monumental black typography, and an intensely saturated red dress.
At the centre, Matsuda’s Date emerges almost completely from shadow. His face is largely concealed behind the body of Reiko Hanada, played by Asami Kobayashi, whom he carries in his arms.
Reiko’s body falls backwards in a dramatic arch, her eyes closed and her arms hanging loosely towards the ground. Her flowing red dress expands across almost the entire lower half of the poster, introducing a powerful sense of movement, violence, and tragic theatricality.
Date’s dark clothing and obscured features reduce him to an almost anonymous silhouette. The visible handgun, tightly controlled posture, and absence of expression reinforce his transformation from sophisticated intellectual into an emotionally detached predator.
The image is printed with a deliberately coarse, highly textured photographic surface. Rather than softening the scene, this granular treatment gives the poster the appearance of a newspaper crime photograph or degraded surveillance image.
The enormous vertical title:
「野獣死すべし」
occupies almost the entire left side of the composition.
The title may be translated literally as:
“The Beast Must Die.”
Its immense, uncompromising black characters contrast sharply with the pale grey background and the vivid red of Kobayashi’s dress. The typography is not simply informational; it becomes an architectural part of the image, visually enclosing the figures and intensifying the poster’s atmosphere of entrapment and impending death.
The result is an exceptionally bold example of early-1980s Japanese film advertising. Its limited palette, confrontational imagery, and severe typography communicate the film’s psychological violence without relying upon a conventional montage of characters or action scenes.
Release note
The Beast to Die was released theatrically in Japan on 4 October 1980. The colour feature runs approximately 118 minutes and was produced as part of the influential cycle of Kadokawa films that combined major literary properties, prominent stars, and highly distinctive promotional campaigns.
This poster was printed for the film’s original 1980 Japanese theatrical campaign.
It is a standard Japanese B2-size poster, measuring approximately:
51.5 × 72.8 cm / 20.3 × 28.7 inches
It is an original period Japanese cinema poster, not a later reproduction or commercial reprint.
Condition
Excellent condition. A particularly attractive and well-preserved example, retaining strong red and black tones, clear photographic detail, crisp typography, and excellent overall display impact.
There are only very light signs of age and handling consistent with an original Japanese theatrical poster from this period, but no significant condition issues detract from the design.
Reference: H289.
Please review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.
This is an original Japanese theatrical poster from the film’s first-release 1980 campaign. It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
